Resort-ing to Reality

I went to Cuba pretty recently on a resort vacation, that promised endless sunshine, sand and seawater in the clearest and bluest of blues. Apart from the tourist-y type things which I did A LOT of (i.e., spending money as if  I own a money tree, drinking, clubbing, swimming in the water, building sandcastles on the beach, more drinking with other tourists, and just being relaxed & lazy), I did think through a few things while lazing around a beach, getting the service that we Westerners can expect while vacationing, and drinking yet another servesa;

1.) The city of Havana: Beautiful with faded grandeur and a cloud of nostalgia hanging over it. While I was thrilled to have been able to visit the first city of the Western Hemisphere and one of the most well-known and history-rich cities of the world, I was taken aback that I did not see any homelessness, considering Cuba's modest per capita income. But then you look closely and realize that the buildings many people live in are musty, molded and old'; the alleyways narrow; the signs of fading and decay very evident in the winding alleyways which those air conditioned tour buses will never take you down on. Also, as I was walking past the National Revolution museum, I then saw it: the homeless were the ones who were old, weak and living with disabilities (I saw a homeless man on a wheelchair).

Indeed, the poverty has been very well hidden by the tourism industry.

2.) North Americans and Europeans flood Cuban resorts every year and bring in BIG income into the country. However, we tourists go into Cuba and other sunny Carribbean nations, expecting North American type food and taste; expecting big quantities and hot food on demand; expecting that we will get served by wait-staff, as if they are our servants; expecting that hot water will just come at the slight turn of a tap; expecting that all the staff will be able to talk to us in English, when we make no efforts to learn their language when we are on their land!

I almost feel that it beats the whole point of travelling in the first place: that is to see, experience another culture, a different type of food and being able to do things that the locals do (i.e. eating local cuisine; going to a restaurant frequented by locals of the place). And that is what is missing from my beach resort vacation to Cuba; and THAT is what would prevent this vacation from an amazing, memorable, experience. I do wonder how a large section of Cubans feel about this, wish someone would be able to take a survey...but then doing that would have real political implications

3.) Its easy to get ripped off, or in other words be overcharged, when you are drunk :P

4.) With the amount of prime Cuban beach-side properties being taken up by resort properties of various stars and stripes, I wonder whether your local/average Cuban has much of a public access to the beautiful, warm water beaches? I did hear from one local that Cubans, who are not directly employed by the resort, are not allowed to enter these beaches.

And the irony is that Communism was suppose to do away with the concept of private property and land ownership....

5.) Classism is also very much alive in Cuba. One needs to look at the different colored license plates of the cars on the road and also notice who drives the 1950's car models and who drives the modern cars and SUV's.

6.) I bought the infamous Cuban cigars (Monte Cristos as favoured by Che Guevera), because it is just THE thing to do when in Cuba. Thought that once I got back to Canada, I would totally smoke one of them and 'do it as the Cubans do'. But have I smoked ANY of the cigars since I came back.....uhmm no...I got back into the busy and stressful North American life pretty quickly...guess I am conditioned to accepting this stressful pace of life as my 'real life'